Multnomah County Library system wins national honor

View full sizeBrent Wojahn/The OregonianPeople at the Multnomah County Central Library on Monday afternoon might not have known it, but the county's library system is an award winner. The Institute of Museum and Library Services will announce today that Multnomah County will receive a National Medal for Museum and Library Service, along with $10,000. The county library's bilingual services were singled out for praise.In 2003, there were 11 bilingual workers in the Multnomah County Library system. Today there are 34.

The library's efforts to serve the county's Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Vietnamese speakers top the list of reasons the library is set to receive a National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation's highest honor for museums and libraries.

The annual award recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental or economic contributions to their communities. Multnomah County is one of 10 agencies to receive the award this year.

The library will get the medal, which comes with a $10,000 cash prize, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The date hasn't been set.

"This is an incredible honor," said Vailey Oehlke, Multnomah County library director.

Multnomah County is the only library in Oregon that has received the award. A library can get it only once.

Other recipients

Braille Institute of America Library, Los Angeles

Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal

Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, Ill.

Indianapolis Museum of Art

Museum of Science and Industry, Tampa, Fla.

Pritzker Military Library, Chicago

Stark County District Library, Canton, Ohio

Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, Tenn.

"It's nice that it is happening now because people are seeing the value of libraries," said Terrilyn Chun, Multnomah County library spokeswoman. The recession has sparked library use as people have cut spending on books, entertainment and Internet access.

More than 13,000 people visit the county library system each day. Library staff members answer more than 2,100 inquires a day, and patrons check out or renew 57,000 books and other materials a day. Library computers are in use nearly 90 percent of the time.

"Everyday, the Multnomah County library makes a real difference in their community," said Anne-Imelda M. Radice, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums.

"Their exemplary programs respond to community challenges, positively impact people's lives and serve as models for the nation's libraries," she said.

About two years ago, in response to changing demographics, the library launched programs and services for people in the area who speak other languages, Chun said, including citizenship classes, cultural festivals and "Talk Time" for people to practice English.

The library also added materials in the targeted languages to its collection after asking people what they wanted to read, she said.

"We already had robust outreach to Spanish speakers," she said. "But we asked, 'What should we do for the Russian, Chinese and Vietnamese speakers?'"

The library hired bilingual and bicultural people to do outreach and build relationships with those communities, she said. They work in branch libraries near where people from those cultures live.

In making the award announcement, the institute also cited the library's leadership in early education services such as Raising a Reader, which provides literacy services to more than 30,000 children a year.